It's official. When you eat oysters, you should wash them down with a healthy glass of Villa Maria's 1999 private bin sauvignon blanc.
This is the opinion of judges in the annual Wine for Oysters Competition in the United States. A bunch of people cram into Washington DC's Old Ebbitt Grill, gulp down 20 varieties of American oysters and try to determine which of 420 wines tastes best with raw molluscs.
The upshot is that the aristocratic dry white from the South Island of New Zealand is tops.
The Ebbitt Grill annual trials have serious intent. The wine voted best with oysters becomes sought after by seafood restaurants.
So if you take seafood seriously, I advise you to contact the agents (Northeast Trading, fax: 2554 5369) and place an order. Through them, it sells for $96 per bottle. It's also on a lot of hotel and restaurant wine lists, although obviously it costs more.
Getting back to Washington, the wine-for-oysters hunt is a fun event but it's run and judged by people who take these things studiously. So the results mean something. The aim is to find perfect matches for classic dishes, giving a guide to people who compile wine lists.
The judges describe the sauvignon blanc as 'the hands down winner'. They say the 1999 vintage is truly exceptional with fresh, sharp concentrated fruit.
